


Library Love

by lalahss



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: 'is she gay?', F/F, Pining, just bc she's a bit more protective of marianne but it works, midnight library visits, slightly slightly slightly ooc annette, terrible communication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 04:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21293321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalahss/pseuds/lalahss
Summary: Hilda overhears her crush (who she can't quite admit to having feelings for) kissing someone else in the library. What happens next will not only be painful in terms of communication, but will also result in some near broken hearts!
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Annette Fantine Dominic, Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril, Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril/Annette Fantine Dominic
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	Library Love

It had been an eventful day for Hilda. First off, her classes with Byleth and the other Golden Deer felt as if they were stretching on forever, and once lunch came she couldn’t run fast enough to the kitchen. Then came training that afternoon, which tired her out immensely. She couldn’t wait to head back to her room and sleep off all the exercise, but Byleth had called her to tea. 

That night after dinner, she dragged herself off to her room. Days like those were always horrible for her, but her sleep that night always felt much better. In any case, she wasn’t expecting to see Claude lounging inside her room once she opened the door.

“Baaah!!! Claude! What are you doing here?”

“Good to finally see you Hilda, as I was beginning to wonder if you were okay,” Claude said, smirking. “Any reason why you haven’t been in your room all day?”

“Any reason why you’re in my room?” Hilda said crossly.

“Ah, I needed to talk to you actually.” Claude leaned back on Hilda’s desk chair. “Have you seen Marianne recently?”

“Noooo, I haven’t… What’s up?”

“Well, that’s the thing. Nobody knows where she is.” Claude frowned. “The last Byleth saw her was a couple of days ago, in class.”

“So… what do you want me to do?” Hilda leaned against her door frame, and Claude sighed.

“What do you think I want you to do?”

“Find her?”

“Yeah.” Claude gave Hilda a tired look. “I know we’re all really busy, but you saw her last week to eat pastries, right?”

“Yeah, I did…” Hilda thought back to Marianne and her clumsiness, and how adorable she looked when she was fumbling over the sweets. “But I’m not even her best friend!”

“I’ve got some bad news for you,” Claude said with a sigh. “Like it or not, you’re the only person she’s close with here.”

“W-what?” Hilda laughed. “Reeeally?”

“The second closest person is Byleth, and they’re trying to keep tabs on everyone right now, not just Marianne. So, Hilda…”

“Okay, fine, I’ll look for her in the morning!” Hilda was about to flop onto her bed, but Claude stood up in front of her. “What?”

“Can you go now?”

“Why?!” Hilda groaned. “I’ve had a big day today!”

“And I need to talk to Byleth.”

“About what?! What’s so important?!”

“It’s not too important.” Claude looked uncomfortable and quickly added, “Plus, Marianne’s terrified of me.”

“Okay, right. Fine. Okay. I’ll look for her.”

“Thanks Hilda,” Claude said with a smile. “We’ve checked her room, and everywhere she likes to frequent.”

“So the stables? Library? … Church?”

“Yup. She might be outside of the monastery, but we don’t think she’d leave like that.”

“Okay, leave it to me, I guess…” Hilda gave Claude an annoyed smile, and he grinned back.

“Good. See you tomorrow!” Claude smiled as he slipped past her and out of her room, and Hilda only huffed in response. How did she get put up to this? Oh well, it was Marianne, and she was her friend…

As she started looking across the training grounds, she could feel her eyelids drooping as she tried to look in each shadow. 

“Why did Claude put me up to this?” She wondered to herself, wandering across the courtyard. “This was a complete mistake.”

The greenhouse was empty, the grounds were cold, and Hilda found herself stumbling towards the library before she knew it. She hoped that she’d be able to sleep soon, because this searching was beginning to tire her out. Why had she even agreed to this?

A sound came from the back of the shelves as Hilda made her way to the middle of the library. “Hmm?” She looked around inquisitively, and tiptoed over to where the sound was coming from. She heard the sound of lips smacking, and she crouched down. It was coming from behind these shelves, right?

“Mar- ooh!” Hilda frowned when she heard this. Who was there?

“Sorry, I can’t help it… you look so pretty in this light…”

“There’s barely any light, though!”

Hilda crept over, and poked her head around the side of the shelf. She immediately swung her head back, and put a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp.

“Sssh!” That had to be Marianne, Hilda thought. She sounded too delicate, too sweet…

“Ho- hold on- whoooa!” A stack of books fell to the ground, and Hilda jumped. How had these two not been caught? She peeked back around, and eyed the ginger girl sitting opposite her. She was one of the Blue Lions, Annette, if she remembered correctly. “Marianne, are you alright?” Hilda squinted, and saw that Marianne was lying on the floor.

“Just, um, a bit sore, sorry…”

“Don’t be, it’s okay…” And before Hilda had a chance to react, Annette placed a kiss to Marianne’s forehead. Hilda’s jaw dropped, and she could feel her heart racing. “I’m worried someone will find you, that’s all…”

“Thanks Annette, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Marianne’s lips curved up, and Annette gently leaned in. Hilda hid behind the shelf again, feeling a sudden rush of worry. Why were they together back there? Why were they… kissing? And why did it make Hilda feel so confused?

“It’s okay to feel bad sometimes, and that’s why I’m here for you.” A kiss, and a giggle from Marianne. Goddess, why was she giggling over Annette? What did Annette have that she didn’t?!

“I wish I could stay here forever,” Marianne said nervously. “I’m scared…”

“Don’t be. Your Crest isn’t a curse, I promise,” Annette said sweetly. Crest? Curse? Hilda’s head was spinning, but not just because of all the new information. Promises? They were acting like a married couple…

“You’re the only one who sees me for who I am, Annette…” Hilda inhaled, and nearly hissed out before she remembered she was trying to be quiet. “And I love you for that.”

Hilda felt her face redden. Why was she listening to their very personal conversation, and why did she want to stay? Probably her friendship with Marianne, even though that seemed to matter very little to Marianne right now… Her fists clenched, and she tried to take deep breaths. Why was this making her angry? She wanted to be cared about by Marianne, even though Marianne was kissing someone else…

“I love you too, Marianne.” Another kiss. Hilda felt her insides start to knot. Why was she feeling this way? Claude would joke that she had a crush, and Lorenz would roll his eyes and make some smart response. Ignatz would get all flustered (because he was always “bappy” about love, as Cyril would say), and Raphael would tell her to follow her heart or something sappy like that. Lysithea? Would probably just walk off.

“Please… hold me?” Marianne pleaded in a gentle tone.

Hilda’s anger reached a boiling point, and she tried to calm herself. Why was she getting angry over a girl?!

_“T-thank you Hilda,” Marianne had said to her once after they had cleaned up the common room together, as everyone else had training and Marianne had pleaded with her with those big dark eyes of hers to “please help her clean up.” Hilda could remember the way Marianne’s eyelashes framed her eyes in that moment, and the tugging she felt in her heart._

Well, if it was an exceptionally pretty girl, she supposed, it was probably fine. Like if a guy got mad over her, she’d find it flattering… right?

“Of course, Mari.”

Hilda peeked around the corner again, and saw Marianne’s blue braid droop over the edge of Annette’s leg, her head still in her lap. Annette’s tiny hands were framing her face, and Marianne had a light blush. Why was she hiding in here anyway?!

Marianne’s head tilted to the left, and Hilda saw a stack of books. Books about women, she realised with a blush, and their noble adventures. Saint Cethleann featured frequently, and Hilda wondered what these women had in common. After a few moments, and a few contented “mmm”s from Marianne, she realised they were all women who loved other women. A blush rose up her face, and she went still.

“Do you ever wonder about what you’ll do in the future, Annette?”

“Sometimes!” Annette responded. “I’d love to be a mage, honestly.”

“I’d, uh, like to be a healer of some sort,” Marianne responded. “Um… I like being wanted, I suppose?”

“People like you, Marianne.” A smooch. “I promise.”

“Not Leonie.” She sniffled, and Hilda suddenly realised Marianne was crying. Goddess, what was she going to have to say to Leonie? “She got kind of… um… upset at me…”

“She’s brash and mean. Don’t give her the time of day.”

“Heh…” Marianne sniffled again, and Hilda stood up, determined to do something about Leonie. She then realised she was suddenly moved to help Marianne, and she went pink. What had Marianne done to her, in the few days between their pastry party and today?

Hilda took a step, and then froze as the floor beneath her creaked. She could hear Annette’s breath catch, and Marianne’s sobs silence immediately. To move, or not to? She gently lifted the offending foot, and what sounded was a long, drawn out “criiiiiick.” She had lifted her foot when she heard movement on the other side of the shelf, and decided to sprint away. Hours of library duty had honed her ability to get out of there quickly, and soon she was in the Golden Deer common room, breathing heavily and suddenly very nervous about what Marianne could’ve thought of her– or who, rather. She could’ve mistaken Hilda for Claude, Leonie, or, and she shuddered at the thought, Seteth. She shook, and then went to her bed. Obligation or not, she was not going back to where Marianne was, or Annette. Her emotions were high, and her heart seemed to want something Hilda wasn’t sure she wanted.

Breakfast the next morning was tense. Marianne wasn’t there, and the Blue Lions were quiet. Hilda kept looking across at Annette, chatting with Mercedes and Ingrid as if nothing had happened, and then looking at her food. A gnawing sense of rejection was embedded in her heart, and she wondered if Marianne cared at all about their interactions. The time she looked into her eyes, and saw the night sky in them, and all of those tidying up jobs they did together… She knew it wasn’t the tidying up jobs that bothered her, but the fact her heart desperately wanted to see those stars in Marianne’s eyes again.

“Hilda!” Claude called out, slotting in next to her. “How are you this wonderful, sunny morning?”

“Fine,” she said glumly, poking at her eggs.

“So I take it you didn’t find Marianne?”

“Uh.” Hilda paused. “She was. Hmm.”

Claude gave her a look that radiated relief and fury. “Where is she?”

“The library. But-” She paused as Claude immediately shot up. “You can’t tell her I found her.”

“Did she see you?” Claude asked curiously.

“No, but… she was…” Hilda stopped, wondering how much to say. “She was with a partner in the library.”

“Oh!” Claude smiled. “No wonder you were hesitant to say anything. That’s okay, I won’t tell anyone!” He winked at her, and Hilda’s stomach only twisted further. “You look sick though. Did you see something you shouldn’t’ve?”

“Yes.” Hilda went quiet, and Claude gave her a look. “Nothing that wasn’t chaste, but…”

“That’s fine. If you want to talk, I’m here.” He gave her a winning smile, and Hilda tried to match it. “Goddess, you really aren’t looking great. Do you want to see Byleth?”

“I… don’t know. Catch you later?”

“Yeah! I’ll go and find her right now. See you!” Claude practically sprinted off, and Hilda sighed. Marianne’s kisses with Annette were still fresh in her mind, and she tried not to think about them as she channeled her energy into eating her food. As she left the hall, she saw Annette smiling and laughing with Mercedes as they went to put away their dishes. Lucky, she thought grumpily.

Classes dragged on. Claude hadn’t come back by the time class had started, and as the minutes turned into hours Hilda worried. Was Marianne okay?

By the time lunch had rolled around and Claude nor Marianne were back, Lorenz sat next to Hilda at lunch. “Well. Considering our best friend has gone off somewhere, what do you say we train together after lunch?”

“I’m sure Claude will be back,” Hilda said, barely with her usual vigor. “I don’t mind taking a break today.”

“You look worried.”

“I’ve had a hard day.”

“The hardest thing that’s happened for you all day was when Byleth called on you in class, and you were too busy staring out the window to notice. I’m sure dragging your attention away from the window takes a lot of energy, bu-”

“Hilda!” Claude shouted out from the other side of the room, moving quickly towards the two. “And Lorenz. I should’ve known you two would miss me the most.” He sat down across the table from the two of them, and grinned widely.

“Claude, what is the meaning of this? You missed class this morning.”

“Yes, I’ll explain,” Claude said to Lorenz with a hand wave. “But right now, I need to talk to Hilda. And just Hilda.” Lorenz gave him a suspicious look, but Claude leaned over the table and whispered to him, and he looked surprised. As Lorenz moved away, Claude smiled. “Now that I’ve got you to myself, I can tell you that Marianne is doing okay. Got a shock when I came up to her this morning– asleep on a pile of books!– but Seteth’s looking after her right now. She looked really shaken to see me, and kept asking if it was me last night.” Hilda blanched, and Claude laughed. “I said ‘no! It wasn’t me, maybe it was Lorenz?’ as a joke, and she just about murdered me. And that’s saying a lot for a girl as sweet as her!” Hilda gave a halfhearted smile, her heart hurting. “But she’s okay.”

“Thank the Goddess,” Hilda replied. “I was concerned.”

“I could tell.” Claude gave Hilda a look, and then smirked. “I think I know what’s going on too… but I’ll talk to Sylvain about it.”

“Syl- Sylvain?!” Hilda gawked at Claude. “He wasn’t with her last night!”

“I know, but he’ll be able to talk to whichever guy it was!” Claude got up, and Hilda went pale. “Don’t worry Hilda, he’ll be discreet. See you at training!”

“Wai- oh no, there he goes.” Hilda felt sick, and suddenly looked down at her food. It seemed a lot less appetising, and as Claude whispered to Sylvain across the room she felt claustrophobic. Before anyone could notice, she ran out of the hall, desperate for some air.

She needed to talk to Marianne. That much was clear. But what about Annette? Marianne and Annette clearly were together, that was also obvious. What else would explain the kisses? The “I love you”s? Hilda’s stomach felt sick, and she tried to breathe in deeply. She failed.

“Marianne, I’m so sorry,” she said out loud. “I need to make this right.”

Heading to Seteth’s quarters, she hoped she wouldn’t be overstepping. But she needed to see Marianne somehow. She made it to his door, and she could hear a conversation inside. Curious, she stopped. 

“Someone was there, I’m sure.”

“You’ve said so, multiple times.” That was definitely Seteth. The other voice didn’t quite sound like Marianne though…

“I was looking up books on Saint Cethleann–”

“What?! I mean… do continue.”

“And I heard someone stepping on a loose floorboard,” the voice continued, “and then they fled. So they’re a fast runner, and caught me and her together.”

Annette! Hilda had no time to react before Seteth responded with, “and that’s okay. Nobody’s said anything, so you should be alright.”

“I’m worried though…”

“Whoever it is, they haven’t said anything. We would’ve heard by now.”

“I know, but Mari isn’t taking it well…” Annette sounded worried, and Hilda hesitated. Should she knock? It was entirely her fault, and now Sylvain and Claude would be talking about it, asking around, doing… something… Why did Claude even need to know? Or talk to the guy?

“Ah! Hilda!” Hilda jumped a mile in the air, and turned around. It was Flayn, Seteth’s sweet younger sister. “It’s good to see you, your house mate Marianne’s been worried sick about you.”

“Oh, Flayn…” Hilda laughed. “Yeah, I was hoping I could see her! And Annette, if that’s okay?”

Flayn’s eyes grew. “Of course, I’ll talk to them first though.” She opened the door, and slipped through. Hilda started to take some more deep breaths, but then she heard some words that worried her.

“Gossip spreading…” Hilda took a deep breath. “Clarification…” Her heart beat faster. “Kind…” Eventually the door opened, and Seteth’s grumpy face greeted her. He beckoned her in, and as the door shut her eyes scanned the space.

Marianne was lying on a couch, with Annette perched on the arm. Seteth clearly had been sitting on the armchair opposite, and the room smelled of spiced tea. Marianne’s face brightened up as Hilda entered, while Annette gave her a worried look.

“Excuse the lack of space,” Flayn said. “We’ve tried to accommodate Marianne here because she was so jumpy around everyone… Manuela’s room was too messy, Byleth wasn’t equipped to look after a student in their quarters, and Hanneman would’ve only harrassed Marianne abou-”

“About her Crest, I know!” Hilda balanced on her tiptoes, trying to keep herself focused. “That’s fine, I can stand.” Marianne gave her a worried look, and Annette began to look rather suspicious. “Anyway, I… I’m sorry Marianne and Annette, but I saw you both yesterday in the library because Claude made me look for you both and I got a fright.”

“Ah.” Marianne was quiet, and Annette blushed. The room was quiet, until Seteth sat down in his armchair. Flayn went next to Hilda, and Hilda felt a bit better.

“The only person who knows you were with somebody was Claude,” Hilda said quickly. “I think he thought from what I said that you were with a boy, but I don’t know because he went to talk to Sylvain and-”

“Calm down,” Seteth said calmly. “If anything, that’s good for these two in terms of keeping things private.”

“Yes…” Hilda felt her heart drop through the floor, and smiled, pained. “I just… panicked.”

“I imagine,” Annette said very quietly. The room once again fell silent, and Hilda took a noisy deep breath in. Flayn slowly inched away from Hilda, and beckoned Seteth over to the next room. As the door shut between them, the silence began to feel thick. Hilda couldn’t hear their conversation, as her ears started to ring, so all she did was look at Marianne’s despondent face. The despondent face that seemed to be as smooth as marble, with lips as supple as fish scales…

“Hilda…” Marianne said slowly. “I’m sorry.”

“Wh- why are you sorry?”

“I don’t know,” Marianne replied. “I just… sorry.”

“Don’t apologise, Leonie’s the only one who should be apologising. And me, I guess.”

Annette’s face looked stiff with fear. “How… how much did you overhear, Hilda?”

“A… bit, I guess?”

“Um…” Marianne looked worried. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be, I told you,” Hilda reassured her.

“No, I mean… it probably sounded really bad without context. All the comments I made to Annette, all the…” Her voice dropped in volume, and Hilda could barely make it out.

“All the whats?”

“Kisses.”

The room was silent again. “Why would that be bad?” Hilda asked Marianne, but she could feel her heart betraying her as her cheeks went red. "I mean..."

“Uh… I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be.”

“I’m sorry though.”

“No, I promise you’re fine.”

“No, Hilda, listen please. I’m sorry, because I like you.”

“I..." Hilda paused, thinking about all of the stress and fear she'd been feeling that day. All of the worry about whether Marianne would still like her, even as friends, and all of the worries about whether she'd hate her. She took a deep breath, and said, "I like you too." Blood rushed through her ears, but she saw Marianne smile softly. "I like you a lot. Not just like friends would."

"Hilda... I... bear with me, I'm, um, really nervous but... I've liked you since you started talking and cleaning up the library, and I liked you even more when you were in the infirmary with me. And when we had pastries together, I...” Marianne sounded nervous. “Can I please, please say something?”

“Of course,” Hilda said gently.

“Thanks… um, I like both of you a lot, and I’m sorry Hilda, because I thought you were um… involved with someone else? I know, but like… I thought Lorenz would want to be with you, because I…” She blushed, and Hilda smiled back at her. “I thought you guys liked each other.”

Hilda burst out laughing, and Marianne gave her a hurt look. “Sorry! I just… hahahaha!” She took a deep breath, and Annette gave her an upset look. “Uh… I mean… Lorenz and I only hang out because we’re both friends with Claude. And Claude and Lorenz are into each other. No room for me, not that I’d want there to be. I don’t think I even like men!”

Annette softened, and Marianne giggled slightly, but still looked hurt. “You… oh Hilda… you can be so blunt sometimes, but you’re so kind too.” Marianne gave her a smile, and Hilda smiled back, properly this time. “That being said, once this all blows over, would you like to go out for tea?”

“Yes, yes please,” Hilda said sweetly. “And if you want to come along Annette…”

“I’d love to. I want to do nothing more than make Marianne happy, and also get to know you better.” She giggled, and gave Hilda a big smile. “I know I’ve been so cold, but I was scared that you didn’t care about how much Marianne cares about you!”

“Of course I care, of course I do.” Hilda grinned, and Marianne gave her a smile that could melt ice. The sun had come out, and Hilda was basking in her warmth. “And anything you both want, I can help with.”

“That’s… perfect,” Marianne said, but Annette was looking behind Hilda. “What’s wrong, Annie?”

“Claude?”

“Ladies?” Claude boomed from behind Hilda, and she jumped. “I just talked to Sylvain, and apparently the only person who snuck out from the Blue Lion dorms was Annette! So chill Hilda, they’re just gals being pals.”

The three girls shared a look, and burst into laughter. “Claude, you idiot,” Hilda said in a joking voice.

“Why? What did I do?”

“Nothing.” Hilda gave Marianne a smile, and Marianne gave her one back. “Nothing at all.”

Later that day, as the Golden Deer were all heading to bed and Hilda was accompanying Marianne to her room, she pulled her into a small alcove where she knew nobody would be looking. Marianne blushed, but Hilda smiled at her in the dim candlelight.

"Want to meet tonight in the library, with Annette and I?"

Marianne's shy nod and gentle kiss to Hilda's cheek provided all the answer she needed, along with a few sparks down her body just for good measure. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you all like this pairing, and that you have a great day!


End file.
